I have chosen some sporting themes this month that could relate to each of us in becoming successful, whether it is in business or life. For Christmas I asked for a book written by Ian Holloway – How to be a successful Football Manager. I based my request on Ian being an interesting character who frequently got in to trouble in his 40-year football career, basically for not keeping control of his emotions.
Similar to Ian’s character his book was a bit all over the place, but there were some good principles including the 3 Es:
Encouragement – of yourself, your teammates (colleagues) basically being a positive influence rather than a moaner or energy sapper – positive mindsets can be infectious.
Enthusiasm – always looking to improve and get a better result.
Enjoyment – dependent on individual behavioural traits (see www.prismbrainmapping.com ). The more aligned to a job their strengths are, the more likely they will enjoy the job.
In football and life, we are not always in control of what happens to us.
Ian’s E + R = O works for me
Event in your life (E) + your response to the event (R) = the outcome (O)
How successful could Ian have been if he had used his emotional intelligence more, including anger management? Most of you will not have heard of Ian. With a coach maybe, he could have been another Alex Ferguson!
Other general themes were:
Research/selection and recruitment of players/alignment of employers, the board, manager, employees and customers all being on the same page/regular reviews – where I am now, where do I want to be/consistency of communications and staying in control. All of which are common areas of focus for all businesses.
The main message I took from the book was that life is about your team and your people being encouraged and not being afraid to fail. This theme brings me onto cricket. How can a team that includes most of the same players change from a team winning only one Test match out of 17 to winning 9 out of the next 10 Test matches? This is down to a new management team including coach and skipper being aligned with totally positive attitudes, being fearless and enjoying cricket as they did as a child.
Apologies for focusing on sport this month, but there are so many themes which tie into life and business. If you want to explore any themes arising from this article with an independent professional, get in touch with neil@nvwsolutions.co.uk
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